Enid Sung Targets Rio Olympic Qualifications

Enid Sung can go to the World Championships with the national team later in the year if she finishes in top two at the national level. She can qualify to Rio Olympics for a top finish there. The 20-year-old said she had a shoulder problem last year and she has just recovered from it and if she performs well in the event then she can be there but it depends upon what happens on the day. Sung finished first in the ball, ribbon and clubs events and third in the hoop event at the recent State Championships.

She won the Rhythmic Gymnastics Senior All Around State Champion award due to hard work and the Australian Gymnastics Championships from May 18 to May 30 in Melbourne will see her as top performer. Meriden Rhythmic Gymnastics Center is her training place and she manages between tough training and full time study. She said she is a full time student of Sydney University and so she wants to qualify for the World University Games also.

The rhytmatic gymnast further said although qualification of Olympics and Commonwealth games is big achievement but the World Uni Games qualification will also be a big job. She further explained she trains for four hours in 5 or 6 days per week and she do her own training a couple of days per week. Sung has been performing in gymnastics for about 10 years and has already represented Australia successfully at the Youth Olympic Festival in 2009 and was contender at the World Championships in 2010. 

Gymnastics Organization Wants to Change Qualification Rules of Olympic

The International Federation of Gymnastics wants the participation of more countries to compete and promote second layer of tournaments. The body wants to change the Olympic qualification rules to meet this objective. The FIG will vote to reduce the size of team of artisitic gymnastics from 5 to 4 at the Tokyo Olympics. There were six members of a team at the 2008 Olympics. The governing body said 12 spaces for men and 12 for women would become available with this proposal complying with quota of 98 of IOC for each gender.

Event specialists of advanced countries could fill those spaces which could result in two more places and thus smaller nations were unable to qualify for the team. The 2012 London games witnessed 58 nations participating and the International Olympic Committee wants the participation of even more under its universality policy. FIG said that continental events and its World Cup series would be included under the proposed rules and smaller championships will thrive with this change.

FIG added results of several competitions will determine the qualification of gymnasts under the new system. World championships in the year before the Olympics and the subsequent test event in the host country are the stages for team qualification currently. Winning world medals and the rankings at the test event can help individual gymnasts to qualify.